Convertible article carrier and storage unit



Aug. 3, 1965 E. w. CREELMAN CONVERTIBLE ARTICLE CARRIER AND STORAGE UNIT3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 25, 1963 V NTOR. BY M AT TUBA/E Y5.

E. w. CREELMAN 3,198,379

CONVERTIBLE ARTICLE CARRIER AND STORAGE UNIT Filed June 25, 1963 3Sheets$heet 2 g- 3, 1965 E. w. CREELMAN 3,198,379

CONVERTIBLE ARTICLE CARRIER AND STORAGE UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June25, 1963 INV NTOR.

ATT02A/E75,

United States Patent 3,198,379 CONVERTIBLE ARTICLE CAR AND STORAGE UNITEdmund W. Creelman, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to C. W. Zumhiel Company,Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed June 25, 1963, Ser. No.290,896 3 Claims. (Cl. 220-413) This invention relates to portablecontainers or carriers formed of paperboard material for packagingbottles and other articles in group formation.

One of the primary objectives of the invention has been to provide acarrier of this type which includes a handle projecting upwardly abovethe upper ends of the bottles for convenient gripping of the carrier,and in which the handle may be shifted downwardly to an inactiveposition below the upper ends of the bottles to permit the loadedcarriers to be stacked one upon another for display punposes in a retailstore, for warehouse storage or during shipment.

According to this aspect of the invention, the carrier is of compositedesign, comprising an external carton or container and an internalholder having partitions arranged to provide individual compartmentswhich separate the bottles or other articles from one another. Theinternal holder is telescopically interfitted within the external cartonand is shiftable vertically with respect to the external carton. Theshiftable holder includes a main wall which extends longitudinally alongthe mid-portion of the carrier and which includes a handle portion; thehandle portion includes an opening or hand hole, adapting the carrier tobe gripped in a convenient manner when it is carried.

The arrangement is such that the bottle holder may be shifted downwardlywithin the external carton to a position in which the upper edge of thehandle portion resides in a horizontal plane parallel with or below theupper ends of the bottles or articles, for stacking and storage of theloaded carriers. Thus, the loaded carriers may be stacked one uponanother upon the shelf of the retail store, or during shipment, orstorage, without any interference by the handle portion. In stackformation, the weight load of the tiers of carriers is imposed upon thebottles themselves, rather than upon the paperboard carriers, thereby tosimplify the storage problem and to protect the carriers from dam-age.

On the other hand, when the carrier is removed from the shelf, thebottle holder is shifted upwardly with respect to the external cartonand the bottles contained therein, such that the hand hole (which formsa part of handle portion of the holder, as noted above) is located abovethe upper ends of the bottles for convenience in grasping the carrier inthe hand.

It will be understood that the carrier is designed forpackaging'bottles, cans or other articles in group formation. In orderto simplify the description, the shift-able internal holder, which istelescopically interfitted within the external carton, is referred to inthe specification primarily as a bottle holder. For the same reason, thearticles confined in the carrier are referred to as bottles, although itwill be understood that the carrier may be designed for packagingvarious other articles, as noted above.

A further objective of the invention has been to provide a compositecarrier formed of paperboard material in which the external carton andthe internal bottle holder may be assembled in a rapid convenientmanner, with the two parts locked in assembly in a positive manner bythe bottles which are packed therein.

Described briefly, the external carton'may be of square or rectangularconfiguration and of conventional design,

ice

comprising a bottom, respective side walls and an open top. However, asdistinguished from a conventional oarton, the side walls further includea plurality of turn-down flaps projecting upwardly above the upper edgeof the carton and delineated by score lines. The bottle holder (whichtelescopically interfits the external carton), in general, comprisesside walls corresponding in configuration to the side walls of theexternal carton and arranged to fit loosely therein. The holder includesa main wall (including the handle portion noted above) which extendslongitudinally along the mid-portion of the holder, with the handleportion of the main wall projecting well above the upper edge of theholder and including the hand hole, by which the carrier is gripped.

Theheight of the holder side walls is substantially less than the heightof the external carton walls to permit the holder (and its handle) to beshifted vertically. The upper and lower ends of the holder are open,suchthat the lower ends of the bottles rest upon the bottom of thecarton, permitting the holder to be shifted vertically relative to theexternal carton and the bottles contained therein. As explained above,this permits the holder to be shifted vertically with respect to theexternal carton and bottles, such that the carrier may be converted froma storage unit for stacking to a portable carrier.

In order to lock the bottle holder in a positive manner within theexternal carton, the upper edge of the external carton includes theturn-down flaps, as noted above. In assembling the carrier, the bottleholder is inserted into the external carton, the turn-down flaps arefolded inwardly so :as to overlie the upper portion of the bottle holderWalls, then the bottles are placed in the holder and in engagement withthe turn-down flaps. 'Ihe bottles thus lock the turn-down flapspositively in their locking position and also serve to cushion thebottles. Accordingly, when the bottle holder is lifted by its handleportion, the weight load of the bottles is imposed upon the bottom ofthe external carton and is transmitted to the holder and its handleportion by operation of the turndown flaps which, as noted above,arelocked in place by the bottles.

A further objective of the invention has been to provide a simplifiedcarrier in which the parts may be collapsed to a flat condition toconserve space during shipment and storage, and in which the carrier maybe erected rapidly and conveniently by the user for insertion into theexternal carton. Y

In general, the bottle holder is fabricated from a single sheet ofpaperboard material, blanked out to the required shape, and providedwith score lines for folding, and including tear lines or lines ofseverance. The single sheet blank is folded along its score lines to theform of a wraparound tube, which includes an intermediate partition,with the wall panels of the holder adhesively secured together to formthe tube. The holders are furnished to the user in fiat collapsedcondition, along with the external cartons, which are also collapsible.When the carrieris to be placed in use, the carton (which is ofconventional design) is erected from its collapsed condition, then thecarrier is erected and severed along its tear lines. Upon being severed,the holder is folded over upon itself to form the intermediate main walland the partitions which delineate the bottle compartments. The

folded holder is then inserted into the external carton,

retracted but free to be shifted to the elevated position to provide aconvenient hand grip when the storage unit I is converted to a carrier.

The various advantages of the invention will be more fully apparenttothose skilled in the art from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a convertible storage unit and bottlecarrier constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the external carton or case inits erected condition before receiving the internal bottle holder.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view showing the bottle holder as it isinserted into the external carton during as sembly of the bottlecarrier.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view generally similar to FIGURE 3 but showingthe bottle holder seated in the external carton with one of the bottlesbeing placed in the assembled storage unit and carrier.

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the bottle holder in its flat collapsedcondition, as furnished to the user.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the holder partiallyerected prior to insertion into the external carton.

FIGURE 7 is an end view taken along line 7-7 of FIGURE 6, furtherdetailing the construction of the bottle holder.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the bottle holder shown in FIGURE 6,showing the two sections of the holder separated along the tear line andpartially doubled upon itself to permit insertion into the externalcarton.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIGURE 1, furtherdetailing the structural arrangement of the composite carrier afterassembly and loading.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 9, showing the elevatedposition assumed by the bottle holder when the storage unit is convertedinto a carrier, with the handle elevated to the carrying position.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT As best shown in FIGURES 1-4, the convertiblestorage unit and carrier, indicated generally at 1, is of composite,two-piece construction, comprising the external carton, indicatedgenerally at 2, and the internal bottle holder, indicated generally at3. The carton 2 and the internal bottle holder 3 are furnished to theuser preferably in fiat collapsed condition to conserve space duringshipment and storage. Both the external carton 2 and the internal holder3 are capable of being erected ina rapid convenient manner and assembledby theuser. Upon loading of the bottles or other articles into theholder 3, the holder is locked in a positive manner within the carton 2by the action of the bottles.

The bottle holder 3 comprises a divider or partition which formsindividual compartments for the bottles or other articles; the holderalso provides a handle, generally indicated at 4 (FIGURE 1), arranged toprovide a convenient grip for the carrier. As explained earlier, thebottle holder 3 telescopically interfits and is slidable verticallywithin the carton 2 to permit the loaded carriers to be stacked upon oneanother in the form of storage units and to permit the handle 4 (withthe holder 3) to be shifted upwardly above the tops of the bottles as ahand grip when the carrier is removed from the shelf and converted intoa carrier. In the lowered position of the holder 3 (FIGURE 9), the upperedge 5 of the handle 4 is disposed in a horizontal plane flush with orbelow the upper ends 6 of the bottles 7. Thus, as indicated by thebroken lines at 8 (FIGURE 9), a similar loaded carrier may be stackedwith its bottom resting directly upon the upper ends 6 of the bottles 7.

It will be understood at this point that, if the carrier is designed forother types of bottles, cans, or other'articles, then the proportions ofthe holder 3 are varied so as to locate the upper edge 5 of the handleflush with or below the upper edge of the articles in the same manner.Briefly therefore, the telescopically arranged holder 3 permits severalrows of carriers (as storage units) to be stacked one upon the other ona shelf for storage and display, for example in a retail store, withoutrequiring individual supports for the several rows.

When the storage unit is removed from the shelf and converted into acarrier, then the bottle holder 3 is shifted upwardly to the positionshown in FIGURE 10, thus bringing the hand hole 9 of handle 4 to a planewell above the upper edges 6 of the bottles 7 for convenience ingripping the carrier. It will be noted in FIGURE 10, that the holder 3is positively locked within the external carton 2 by the turn-down flaps10 of carton 2, which engage the upper edge 11 of the holder 3. Theturn-down flaps 10 are firmly held in their folded position byengagement with the sides of the bottles 7. Thus, as shown in FIG- URE10, the bottles 7 rest uponthe bottom 12 of the external carton 2, whilethe weight load is transferred from the carton to the holder 3 by theturn-down flaps 10.

In the form which has been selected to illustrate the invention, theholder 3 is constructed to confine a group of four of the bottles 7 orother articles. For this purpose, the holder 4 includes an intermediatepartition in the form of two sections 13-13 (FIGURES 1 and 3) whichproject outwardly from opposite sides of the main wall 14 of the holder3. The main wall 14 includes end partitions, indicated generally at15-15 which also project in the form of sections from opposite sides ofthe main wall 14. The partitions 13 and 15,. combined with the externalcarton, thus delineate the four article compartments, which areindicated generally at 16.

As viewed in FIGURES 1 and 2, the external carton 2 is provided with aset of four turn-down flaps 10 which are located to interfit therespective compartments 16 upon assembly of the carrier. The partitions13 and 15, combined with the turn-down flaps 10 separate the bottles toprevent them from striking one another, with possible breakage.

It will be understood at this point, that carriers, following theprinciples of this invention, may be constructed in sizes suitable forconfining larger or smaller groups of bottles or articles. Thus, byincreasing the length dimension of the external carton 2 and holder 3and providing additional partitions, the carrier may be madesufiiciently large to package a greater number of bottles, for example,groups of six or eight-bottles. In this case, the external cartonpreferably is provided with one turn-down flap 10 for each compartment.However, in the larger capacity carriers, one turn-down flap for eachcompartment is not absolutely necessary.

EXTERNAL CARTON In the present disclosure, the external carton 2, asbest shown in FIGURE 2, is square in configuration, comprising thebottom 12, with vertical wall panels 17 rising upwardly from the bottom.As noted earlier, the carton 2 is formed from paperboard material and isof the collapsible type to conserve space during shipment and storage.For this purpose, the bottom 12 is of sectional construction, comprisinga plurality of collapsible interlocking bottom panels which are hingedalong the score lines 18 at the base of the respective wall panels 17.The arrangement is such that the vertical walls, in the collapsedcondition of the carton, fold along the score lines 2%), with the wallpanels 17 in flat, face-to-face relationship with one another, and withthe bottom panels (not shown) folded upwardly between the wall panels.The arrangement of the bottom panels forms no part of the presentinvention; therefore the structural details have been omitted from thisdisclosure.

In the flat collapsed condition of the external carton 2, the turn-downflaps 10 project outwardly from the opposed side wall panels 17 in planewith the panels. The turndown flaps 10 are joined to the upper edge ofthe opposed side walls along the score lines 21 (FIGURE 2). The

flaps remain in'this position (projecting upwardly above the upper edgesof the side wall panels 17) upon erection of the carton, as shown inFIGURE 2.

In assembling the carrier, preferably by hand, the external carton 2 isfirst erected from its collapsed condition (FIGURE 2), then the holder3, as explained later, is

erected and inserted into the carton 2 as shown in FIG.

URE 3. It will be noted at this point, that the turn-down flaps remainin the vertical position to facilitate the insertion of the holder 3.After the bottle holder 3 is slipped into the open upper end of thecarton 2, the turndown flaps 10 arefolded downwardly (FIGURE 4) toengage the upper edge 11 of the holder 3, then the bottles '7 areinserted into the compartments 16 (FIGURE 9) to lock the flaps 10positively in their folded position with respect to the upper edge 11 ofthe holder 3. In order to facilitate the operation of folding the flaps10 downwardly, and to prevent interference with the partitions 13 and15, the corner portions of each flap 10 is chamfered or cut diagonallyas indicated at 22 (FIGURE 2).

BOTTLE HOLDER As pointed out above, the insert or holder 3 is furnishedto the user in a collapsed condition, as shown in FIGURE 5, and isconveniently erected, as shown in FIGURES 6-8. The holder 3 isfabricated from a single sheet of paperboard material which is scoredand provided with lines of severance, adapting it to be doubled uponitself and inserted into the external carton, as explained below.

As viewed in FIGURE 7, the one-piece sheet blank, after being properlyscored and perforated for severance, is bent along the respective scorelines 19 to form a main panel 23, which constitutes the main wall 14 ofthe holder 3 when the holder is doubled upon itself (FIGURE 8) forinsertion into the external carton 2. A pair of side wall panels 24 and25 are joined to the edges of the main panel 23; the side wall panels 24and 25 form the end partitions -15 (FIGURE 3) when the holder iserected. A panel section 26 extends from the side panel 24 along thescore line 19 and includes at its inner edge a score line 27 whichdelineates the intermediate partition 13. The end of the partition 13includes a flap 28 which is adhesively joined to the main panel 23.

The bottle holder blank is completed by a panel 30 which is joined alongthe score line 19 to the side wall panel 25. The panel 30 is adhesivelysecured to the panel section 26. Thus, when the holder 3 is erected fromthe blank condition of FIGURE 5 to the condition shown in FIGURES 6 and7, the holder is in the form of an open ended tube divided centrally bythe intermediate partition 13.

As best seen in FIGURE 5, the side walls 24 and and the panel include acontinuous line of severance or tear line, indicated at 31 comprising aseries of interrupted slits, permitting the panel 30 and the side wallpanels 24 and 25 to be separated. The main panel 23 (FIGURE 5) isprovided with a score line 32 parallel with the severance line 31,permitting the panel 23 to be doubled upon itself. Thus, in assemblingthe carrier, the blank is first erected as shown in FIGURE 6, then it istorn across the severance line 31. After being severed, the two halvesof the main panel 23 are folded along the score line 32 (FIGURE 8),thereby to form the main wall 14 of the holder. The double plyconstruction thus provided imparts additional strength to the main wall14 to withstand the strain imparted to the carrier when it is gripped bythe hand hole 9.

In its erected condition, the outer walls 24, 25 and 3%) of the holder 3telescopically interfit the external carton 2, permitting the holder tobe inserted as shown in FIG- URE 3. After being inserted, the turn-downflaps 10 are folded downwardly over the upper edge 11 of the holder(FIGURES 9 and 10), into the compartments 16, then the bottles 7 arepacked into the compartments to lock the flaps downwardly. The holder isthen free to be shifted to'its downward position (FIGURE 9)"forstacking, or to be elevated to the carrying position shown in FIGURE 10.

Having described my invention I claim: 1. A convertible article carrierand :storage unit formed of paperboard material comprising; an externalcarton having a bottom, generally vertical side walls, and an open upperend; a plurality of turn-down flaps joined to the upper edges of theside walls of the external carton; an article holder slidablyinterfitting the external carton; said article holder being formed froma single sheet of paperboard material having a main wall panel and aplurality of side wall panels; said sheet being wrapped upon itself toform an open ended wrap-around tube having a rectangular cross section,the side wall panels of the sheet forming the side walls, and the mainwall panel forming the main wall of the holder; the side wall panelshaving a tear line and said main wall panel having a score line locatedmid-way along the length thereof; whereby the side wall panels areseparated along said tear line and the main wall panel is folded alongsaid score line and doubled upon itself to form a two-ply main wall;

said holder thereby having generally vertical side walls and open upperand lower ends, the side walls of the article holder being substantiallyless in height than the side walls of the external carton;

the turn-down flaps of the external carton being doubled over and bentdownwardly over the upper edge portion of the walls of the articleholder; said main wall extending across the midportion of the articleholder; said main wall including a handle portion projecting above theopen upper end of the article holder; said article holder adapted toconfine a group of articles within the side walls thereof, with thelower ends of the articles resting upon the bottom of the externalcarton, said articles engaging and holding the turn-down flaps inlocking position with respect to the walls of the article holder; thedistance from the lower open end of the article holder and the upperedge of the handle portion of the holder being equal to or less than thelength of the articles, whereby the article holder is adapted to beshifted downwardly relative to the articles to a position wherein theupper edge of said handle portion is flush with or below the upper endsof the articles resting upon the bottom of the external carton, adaptinga plurality of article carriers to be stacked one upon another in theform of storage units with the weight load thereof supported by thearticles;

said article holder adapted to be shifted upwardly into engagement withthe said turn-down flaps with the handle portion of said main wallprojecting above the upper ends of the articles therein to con vert thestorage unit into an article carrier.

2. A convertible article carrier as set forth in claim 1, wherein theside wall panels of the article holder are joined to one another inseries relationship along respective score lines, and the sheet includesa partition panel joined by a score line to the edge of one of the sidewall panels, the partition panel having a tear line in alignment withthe tear line of the side wall panels, the partition panel being bentalong saidscore line and extending transversely across the mid-portionof the said wraparound tube from the side wall panel with its outer edgeportion joined to the main wall panel, thereby to divide the Wrap-aroundtube into respective longitudinal c0m partments, the number of saidcompartments being doubled when the side wall panels and partition panelare separated along the tear lines with the main wall panel a doubledupon itself to form the two-ply main Wall, with the said compartmentsdisposed on opposite sides of the two-ply main Wall.

3. A convertible article carrier as set forth in claim 2, in which theWrap-around tube is adapted to be folded to a fiat collapsed conditionfor storage and is adapted to be erected to form the Wrap-around tube,the side Wall panels and partition panel being separated along the tearline after erection for folding and doubling the main wall panel to formthe two-ply main wall, with the compart- 10 ments disposed on oppositesides of the erected two-ply main wall.

Bergstein 22951 Cunningham 22928 Marshall 22952 Finkbone 220105 George220-104 GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner.

1. A CONVERTIBLE ARTICLE CARRIER AND STORAGE UNIT FORMED OF PAPERBOARDMATERIAL COMPRISING; AN EXTERNAL CARTON HAVING A BOTTOM, GENERALLYVERTICAL SIDE WALLS, AND AN OPEN UPPER END; A PLURALITY OF TURN-DOWNFLAPS JOINED TO THE UPPER EDGES OF THE SIDE WALLS OF THE EXTERNALCARTON; AN ARTICLE HOLDER SLIDABLY INTERFITTING THE EXTERNAL CARTON;SAID ARTICLE HOLDER BEING FORMED FROM A SINGLE SHEET OF PAPERBOARDMATERIAL HAVING A MAIN WALL PANEL AND A PLURALITY OF SIDE WALL PANELS;SAID SHEET BEING WRAPPED UPON ITSELF TO FORM AN OPEN ENDED WRAP-AROUNDTUBE HAVING A RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTION, THE SIDE WALL PANELS OF THESHEET FORMING THE SIDE WALLS, AND THE MAIN WALL PANEL FORMING THE MAINWALL OF THE HOLDER; THE SIDE WALL PANELS HAVING A TEAR LINE AND SAIDMAIN WALL PANEL HAVING A SCORE LINE LOCATED MID-WAY ALONG THE LENGTHTHEREOF; WHEREBY THE SIDE WALL PANELS ARE SEPARATED ALONG SAID TEAR LINEAND THE MAIN WALL PANEL IS FOLDED ALONG SAID SCORE LINE AND DOUBLED UPONITSLEF TO FORM A TWO-PLY MAIN WALL; SAID HOLDER THEREBY HAVING GENERALLYVERTICAL SIDE WALLS AND OPEN UPPER AND LOWER ENDS, THE SIDE WALL OF THEARTICLE HOLDER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS IN HEIGHT THAN THE SIDE WALLS OFTHE EXTERNAL CARTON; THE TURN-DOWN FLAPS OF THE EXTERNAL CARTON BEINGDOUBLED OVER AND BENT DOWNWARDLY OVER THE UPPER EDGE PORTION OF THEWALLS OF THE ARTICLES HOLDER; SAID MAIN WALL EXTENDING ACROSS THEMIDPORTION OF THE ARTICLE HOLDER;